The environment is everywhere.

The Institute for Southern Studies has a recent article about the incident at Three Mile Island. At the 30 year anniversary of the loss of a reactor TMI, some doubts have been raised as to the quantity of radiation released, with some believing that there is evidence that releases were higher than officially recognized. Health effects appear to have been greater than thought at the time, as shown by re-analyzing the epidemiological data.

Not long after the incident, I spoke with a professor who taught environmental science. He noted that investigators had been able to track the radiation released by looking at fresh photographic film at various points in the region. Film at the time was everywhere, in convenience stores, at gas stations, as well as pharmacies, grocery stores, and the like. I’m wondering if the data from this film was used to look at radiation exposure levels. It would seem that, analyzed correctly, such film data could be very useful.